Liquid-soap dispenser.



G. A. BOBRICK.

LIQUID SOAP DISPENSER.

AEPLICATION FILED MAR. 2. 1912.

Patented Oct. 26, 1915.

www@

www.. WMZ? WW GABRIEL A. BoBnIcK, or Los ANGELES, CALIFORNIA.

LIQUID-SOAP DISPENSER.

.Specification of Letters Patent.

patented oet. ac, rais.

Application filed March 2, 1912. Serial No. 681,269.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, GABRIEL A. BOBRICK, a citizen of the United States, residing at Los Angeles, in the county of Los Angeles and State of California, have invented a new and useful LiquidSoap Dispenser, of which the following is a. specification.

rlhis invention relates to apparatus for dispensing measured quantities of liquid soap from a chamber or cylinder by force exerted upon a piston, and is particularly adapted for use in public places, such for instance as lavatories of sleeping cars, hotels, schoolbuildings, etc., where a series of wash basins are arranged in proximity to each other, and where the fixtures are to be used by the public.

The invention also comprises features, combinations and parts capable of use for individual wash basins or at other places where it may be desired to dispense liquid soap.

The use of solid soap in public lavatories is subject to many serious objections, among which may be mentioned, loss occasioned by thievery, by misplacement, and by failure to completely use the cakes; and a sense of uncleanliness and unsanitariness arising from successive using of the same cake by personsl who are strangers to each other and liable to transmit infection.

A diii'iculty to be overcome in the use of liquid soap dispensers is the sense of un- Isanitary conditions which results from any construction of the dispensing device which facilitates, induces, compels or allows the hand of the user to come into direct contact with the liquid dispensing nozzle in the or' dinary operation of obtaining a charge of the saponaceous liquid. Furthermore the which arev so constructed as to result in caussoap should only require the use of the hand that is to receive the charge.

A further reason militating against the introduction of liquid soap dispensers in public lavatories such as those maintained in Pullman cars, is the attention'd'emanded of the porter in order to keep the dispensers properly supplied with the saponaceous liquid, it being found that the several charges of soap in the separate dispensing devices become exhausted at various times, thus requiring an unwarrantable amount of time and attention of the porter to keep the apparatus in running order, and also that the porter is apt to receive a call from the occupants of the car while the dispensing device is dismantled preparatory to or during the operation of refilling, thus making it necessary for him to leave the dispenser dismantled at inopportune times.

An object of this invention is to provide a novel dispensing fixture applicable to railway train service and elsewhere, whereby the use of liquid soap in all such places may be made practical and popular, thus doing away in such places with the great waste now occasioned by the generaluse of solid soap in public lavatories and also avoiding the sense of unsanitary conditions and liability yto infection which are at present involved in the use of soap in public lavatories.

Further objects are tof avoid dripping of the liquid from the dispensing nozzle; to avoid any possibility of a continuous opening from the reservoir to the nozzle; to insure the delivery of a determined charge at each full operation of the plunger; and to accomplish all of these objects with a neat, attractive and unobtrusive appliance of a few cheap and simple parts that are easy to manufacture and assemble and diicult to be dismantled by a person not specially prepared for the work.

By placing a main supply tank in the baggage car of the train and supplemental tanks connected therewith and located in the several cars, it will be possible to avoid all confusion and labor of attending to the soap supply from beginning to end of long journeys by rail.

By eliminating the individual reservoirs from liquid soap dispensers, and dispensing the soap directly from a hollow bracket as pensed with.

shown herein, an economy of highly valuable space is effected.

Another object is to provide a liquid soap dispenser' from which the liquid soap will be discharged positively by the action of a plunger and not by mere gravity as the soap is liable to dr' in the discharge tube and thereby prevent the operation provided gravity flow alone is depended upon.

The accompanying drawings illustrate the invention.

Figure 1 is a view partly in section. and on a small scale, of a liquid soap dispensing apparatus constructed in accordance with this invention and installed in a sleeping car or hotel lavatory, a fragment of which is shown. Fig. 2 is an enlarged axial section of one of the dispensing devices shown in Fig. 1. the parts being shown in normal closed position. Fig. 3 is a view analogous to Fig. 2. showing the parts in charging position. the piston being pushed in. In this view a modification of vthe tubular bracket is shown for application where tubing is applied outside a supporting wall. Also the air chamber shown in Fig. 2 is dis- F ig. 4 is a fragmental sectional view analogous to Figs. 2 and 3 showing an intermediate closing position. Fig. 5 is a cross section on line af, Fig. 2, looking in the direction of the arrow. Fig. 6 is a cross section on line .116, Fig. 2, looking toward the knob. Fig. 7 is a fragmental vertical section of an individual dispensing device provided with an individual reservoir to be filled from the top. Fig. 8 is a perspective view on areduced scale of a dispenser of the form shown in Fig. 7.

The apparatus in the form shown in Figs. 1 and 2, comprises a liquid supply reservoir 1. a tube 2 leading therefrom. nipples 3 leading from said tube. and hollow b acket stems l secured to said nipples. Each of said bracket stems 1 is provided with suitable means. such as a flange 6, for securing itI to a support or wall 5, by means of screws 7.

The head of the bracket stem 1 is shaped to form a casing or housing S, having within its walls a main chamber 9 adapted to accommodate the operating or valve mecha-y nism of the apparatus. The main chamber 9 communicates with the hollow bracket stein through the passage 10, thus forming a passage for the liquid from the reservoir 1 to the main chamber 9.

The valve mechanism comprises a valve body 17, provided with a bore 18 in which a valve stem or piston rod 1l moves. and an outlet 19 leading from the wall of said bore; a cylinder 23 extends from the valve body 17 into the main chamber 9. The cylinder 23 is perforated or slotted, and the portion of said cylinder between the outer end of the perforation and the cylinder head or outer wall constitutes what I call the charge chamber 13. The outer wall of the charge chamber serves also as a valve seat; the perforated end of the cylinder 23 forms part of the main chamber 9.

The valve stem 14, which serves also as a piston rod, is provided at its inner end with a valve 15, a. piston 11 and an annular recess 16; at its outer end it is provided with a push button 21. A spring 12 is located in the perforated cylinder Q3, and bears with one end against the piston 11 and with the other end against the seat Q1. The perforated cylinder 23 serves as a guide for the piston when pushed in, also as a housing for the spring. The piston may be provided with a hub 25 to hold the spring in position. A vent 30 may be provided in the seat 2l, above the passage 10, to permit the free escape of air from the main chamber into the reservoir through the hollow bracket stem, nipple 3 and tube Q.

he housing 8 may be provided with an air chamber 22, but such chamber is not essential to the proper working of the apparatus. ,l

The reservoir 1 is provided with an opening at the top for filling it, and has a cap for closing the opening. It may also be provided with a drain cock 32, and a gage glass 31. the latter for indicating the level of the liquid in the reservoir.

The operation of the device is as follows: The person desiring a supply of liquid soap presses the push button inwardly with the root of the palm of the hand, thus pushing the valve piston out of the charge chamber 13 into the perforated cylinder. The valve piston on its inward stroke. before entering the perforated cylinder. draws air into the charge chamber through the outlet 19 and the recess 1G. The moment the out-er end of t-he piston reaches the perforation. the outer end of the valve stem. having the same diameter as that of the bore. closes the outlet 19 and thereby forms a valve therefor as shown in Fig. l. A further advance of the piston inwardly establishes communication between the charge chamber and the main supply of liquid through the perforation. The liquid. by gravity, replaces the air in the charge chamber, the air from said charge chamber escaping into the reservoir and replacing the reduced volume of liquid in the reservoir; thus no air vent is needed in the reservoir to establish equilibrium. Yhen the operator releases the pressure on the push button, the spring forces the valve pitsonl outwardly and when the outer end of the piston reaches the outer end of the perforation, it cuts olf communication between the main supply of liquid and the charge chamber. and a further advance of the piston outwardly causes the recessed portion of the valve stem to open communication between the charge chamber, the valve stem bore and the outlet leading therefrom. The.

piston actuated by the force of the spring forces the liquid entrapped in the charge chamber out intothepalm of the hand of the operator. The portion of the valve stem which is of the same diameter asthe valve stem bore is at all tim-es within said bore and prevents any escapev of liquid through the outer end ot' the bore vwhen the apparatus is in operation.

It may be observed that the`ditfe'rent parts of the valve mechanism are so constructed and arranged, and the length of the annular recess 1G, the depth of the charge `chamber 13A and the distance of the outlet 19'rom the valve seat are so gaged that at no time, during the inward or outward stroke of the valve piston, can the outlet 19 be in communication with the main source of supply of liquid, hence no liquid can flow out from said main source of supply through said outlet at any of the positions of the valve piston shown in Figs. Q, 3 and l. nor at any other position in which an operator of the device may hold the valve piston, nor in the event if the spring` should in any way fail to properly seat the valve piston on the valve seat.

rl`he apparatus, as constructed, can discharge only a measured quantity 4ot' liquid, per full stroke ot' valve piston actuated by iorce.

lVhen the outlet is normally closed, as yshown in Fig. 2, the piston,` fitting piston tight in the charge chamber, and the valve seated on its seat by the force of the spring, form a double closure between the main sup ply ot' liquid and the outside.

ln the t'orm shown in Figs. '7 and S, the operation of the valve mechanism is the same as that shown in the other views. The liquid is supplied from a reservoir QG, preferably of glass, properly secured in a cup 27 on top ot the main chamber 5),- which main chamber is in this case a mere longitudinal extension of the chamber 13. Communication between the interior of the reservoir and the charge chamber l'l is established through the opening in the bottom of the reservoir. and the perforation in 'the top of the chamber 0, when the valve piston is pushed out of the charge chamber into the main chamber 9. The reservoir is filled through an opening in its top, which openis adapted to normally close communication y between said charge chamber and said outlet, and a normally open valve connected with the piston and sliding in said bore for closing the outlet, the construction being such that the space in front of the piston is lessened as the piston advances, and the outlet being separate from the bore and free and unobstructed when the valve is open.

:2. A. liquid dispenser having in combination a reservoir, a valve body having a charge chamberand a valve stem bore and anoutlet leading from the wall of said bore, a piston in said charge chamber that is adapted to normally close communication between said chamber and said outlet, and a normally open valveconnected With the pis ton for closing the outlet, the construction being such that the space in front of the piston is lessened as the piston advances.

3. 1n a liquid dispenser the combination of a reservoir, a valve body having a charge chamber and a valve stem bore and a passage leading from the Wall of said bore, means.

for supplying liquid from the reservoir to the charge chamber, a valve stem tting said bore, and a piston on said stem adapted to cut off the supply of liquid to the charge chamber when communication between the charge chamber and the passage from the bore is established, said piston also lserving as means Jfor normally closing communication between the charge chamber and the bore; said valve stem being provided with a channel adjacent said piston and communicating with said outlet, the construction being such that the space in front of the piston is lessened as the piston advances, and a spring yieldingly holding such piston in normal position.

In testimony whereof, l have hereunto set my hand at Los Angeles, California, this 21st day of February, 1912.

GABRIEL A. BOBRICK.

In presence of- JAMEs R. TowNsEND, L. BELLE RICE. 

